default_name unused

[rly]

1. Bug

I searched through the hdmf and pynwb source code and could not see any place where default_name of a spec is actually used besides when it is stored. In fact, I can change the default_name on a data type like Position in nwb.behavior.yaml and there is no effect:

- neurodata_type_def: Position
  ...
  default_name: Positionsdfsdfds

from pynwb import NWBFile
from pynwb.behavior import Position
from datetime import datetime

module = nwbfile.create_processing_module(name='a module name 2', description="a module description 2")
pos = Position()
module.add_data_interface(pos)
print(module)

a module name 2 <class 'pynwb.base.ProcessingModule'>
Fields:
  data_interfaces: { Position <class 'pynwb.behavior.Position'> }
  description: a module description 2

The default name is set as the class name when no name argument is specified.

Environment

Please describe your environment according to the following bullet points.

Python Executable: Conda
Python Version: Python 3.7
Operating System: Windows
HDMF Version: latest

[rly]

This has likely been masked by the fact that most data types require a name argument, in which case default_name has no use.

[rly]

Fixed by #91

[bendichter]

@rly The PR goes some way to address this issue, but the fix we just merged is just for classes that are constructed dynamically by get_class in pynwb, and does not apply to other classes like Position.

[rly]

This issue requires changing Container and docval to work with "default_name". This is not high priority. Please reopen if it is a priority.